While on vacation, Vincent Hunter received an alert from his iCam iPhone app: Something had set off the motion detectors in his home. He used the app to access his security cameras, called 911, and helplessly watched a burglary unfold.

While Hunter's home security company had also contacted the authorities around the same time as he did, the man was still left watching two burglars leave his home before police officers arrived. There are no details about what was taken from the home and the burglars have not been caught.

The five dollar iCam iPhone app used by Hunter is somewhat similar to software you could install to monitor your security system while away from home, but there's something additionally frustrating seeming about pulling your iPhone out of your pocket to a devastating alert and watching the crime right there on the little screen. [Dallas News via TUAW]